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John ('John of Lancaster'), Duke of Bedford

(1389-1435), Regent of France and Prince; third son of Henry IV

Sitter in 2 portraits
The third surviving son of King Henry IV by his first wife, Mary de Bohun. He acted as Regent of France for his nephew, King Henry VI. When Henry V died in 1422, Bedford vied with his younger brother, Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, for control of the kingdom. Bedford was declared Regent of France, his nephew Henry being heir to the throne of that country as well as to England. Bedford was an important commissioner of illuminated manuscripts. The three most important surviving ones are the Bedford Hours and the Salisbury Breviary, which were both made in Paris, and the Bedford Psalter and Hours of about 1420-3, which are English.

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'England's Worthies. The Lives of the Most Eminent Persons from Constantine The Great to This Present time', after Unknown artist - NPG D23930

'England's Worthies. The Lives of the Most Eminent Persons from Constantine The Great to This Present time'

after Unknown artist
woodcut, published 1684
NPG D23930

John ('John of Lancaster'), Duke of Bedford, by George Vertue - NPG D23780

John ('John of Lancaster'), Duke of Bedford

by George Vertue
line engraving, 1732
NPG D23780

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